Method and apparatus for manufacture of wire fasteners



Nov. 26, 1946. 7 B. SCHWARZ METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF WIRE FASTENERS I Original Filed Oct."'(, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 F/ 9, 4 CONRAD BQSCHWARZ' flvvmm. BY v Nov. 26, 1946. c. B. SCHWARZ' fl fi METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF WIRE FASTENERS v Original Filed Oct. 7, 1-941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 CONRAD 5. scam/e WWW.

v G M Nov. 26, 1946. c. B. SCHWARZ 2,411,813

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF WIRE FASTENERS Original Filed Oct. 7, 1941 4 SheetsSheet 3 i////////AV/ com/m0 B. SEM /Q2 M BY v 5A Ar a/M5) Nov.26, 1946.' I C.IB.SCHV\IIARZ 2,411,813

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF WIRE FASTENERS Original Fild Oct. 7, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 g m ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 26, 1946 January 5, 1944, Serial No." 517,052 2 Claims. (C l. 14093).

'I 'his invention relates to a process andappa ratus-for manufacturing a cover fastener. More particularly; this invention relates to a process heaping full; hencefdifiiculty is encountered in fastening the cover to the basket so as to provide a satisfactory fit. These covers are under a bulging strain which brings: about a need for additional fastenersbesides the two furnished by the handleand the elongated slat. such additional fasteners may .;be termed-side fasteners and are usually used in pairs, one'fastening to the basket and the other to the cover. vSlatted covers of this type are usually assembled with the wire side fasteners afl'ixed thereto so that when the cover isready for attaching to the basket thiscan be accomplished with little loss of time. I

. With the fasteners now in use, difficulty is encountered in attaching-the side fasteners affixed to the basket to the side fasteners affixed to the cover. In order to overcome this difficulty, fasteners have been made which protrude over the edge of the cover. However, in view of the fact that the covers are shipped in bundles, such protruding, fasteners become bent out of shape by blows received during; shipment and, as the wire fasteners must necessarily be made of a relatively stiff wire, the straightening of these fasteners requires considerable time as well as the. use of mechanical instruments such as pliers. Moreover with side fasteners: of this type considerable trouble has been experienced in the fasteners splitting the slats of the cover, and the cover becoming loose after the basket is packed. It is evident that any improvement that may be made in these side fasteners, which will overcome all of these difficulties, will provide a marked advance in the art. p

This invention has as its object to provide a new and improved wire fastener. Another object is to provide a new and improved protruding wire side fastener to be attached to a slatted coverfor bushel baskets, or the like. Still another object is to provide a protruding wire fastener of stiff wire,

Whichwhen deformed, maybe easil'y'restored to it's'original position without having to resort to the use of pliers and thelike. Anotherobject is to provide a new and improved wire fastener-for a slatted cover which in use will strengthen the cover and prevent the splitting of the slats. All other object is to provide a process for themanufacturing and attaching of suchv improved .wire fasteners-{Stillanother object is to provide a machine for the manufacturing and the attaching of such wire fasteners. Other objectswill be apparent from the following description of'the invention. p I

These objects are attained with the construetion and bymeans of :the apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings and described herein. Figure 1 is a top View of a slatted cover with the improved fasteners side at points along the rim niiidway between the ends of the elongated top s at. 1 Figure 2'- is an end view of a fragmentary portion'of said cover, facing said improved fastener, with-a fragmentary portion of the basket and the fastener attached to said basket. V

Figure -3 is a vertical sectional view through the middleofthe fragmentary portion of said cover and basket and the fasteners shown in Figure 2. The tongue-member, that is the portion attached to the;basket,is shown in full lines in the inserted position and indotted lines in the locking position. Figure 4 is a fragmentary top View of said cover showingthe improved fastenerin proper position in full lines and in the damaged vposition in dotted lines Figure 5 is an enlarged,-fragmentary top View showing the improved fastener in the damaged position.

. Figure 6 is a vertical, cross. sectional View through themiddle of the; fastener shown in Figure 5. r v I Figural? .is an enlarged, fragmentary top view cff the fastenenin proper position. 1 e.

"Figure 8 .is a vertical, cross sectional View through the middle of the fastener shown in Figure'7.. Figures 9,710, and "11 are cross-sectional, per.- spective drawings of the parts of the machine fastener and of the cover during the various In Figures 1 to 8, inclusive, the reference num bers in each figure refer to thesame parts of the structure. The reference number 1 indicates the slatted cover. The reference number 2 indicates the basket. The cover l is constructed of wooden slats 3 with an elongated top slat 4 having projecting ends for the purpose of engaging in the handles (not shown) of the basket 2. The cover has a marginal hoop 5 to which the slats are attached. Midway between the elongated ends and the slat t on the marginal hoop 5, the cover is provided with the new and improved protruding wire fastener 6. This fastener 6 has a protruding loop 1' which in its normal, usable position, pro-. trudes over the edge of the cover. This loop may be squared as shown or may have rounding edges and need not be affixed to the midway point,but may be afiixed at any point along the marginal hoop 5 between the protruding ends of the slat 4. The fastener has two arms, 8, which extend in opposite directions from the end of the loop 1. The right arm (looking at Figure 4) may be at an angle between 45 and 90 clockwise from a line parallel to and representing an extension of the right side of said loop and the left arm may be at an angle between 270and 315 clockwise from a line parallel to and representing an extension of the left side of the loop 1. It is preferable that the arms 8 extend in lines approximating that of the hoop 5. As they are relatively straight, they are of such an angle to each other that they will be tangent to the circumference of a circle having a diameter not greater than hoop 5 and not less than one-half the diameter of said hoop when the fastener is in its normal position. In Figure 4 the fastener i3 is shown in its normal position by the drawing in solid lines, and in sprung back position by the drawing in dotted lines. This sprung position results when the loop strikes an obstruction such as the floor, at the time the covers are being shipped, or when they are stacked on edge. Figures 5 and 6 also show, in an enlarged form, the fastener B in a sprung back position, while Figures 7 and 8 show the fastener 6 in its normal position.

Referring to Figures 7 and 8, the arms 8 of the fastener 6 extend at least ha f-way across each If only one slat is used inof the two slats 3. stead of two, they may extend practically across the entire slat. These extended arms, when the cover is in use, pull down across the top of the slat, preventing the slat from'coming loose from shows a method found to be commercially practical. Here the wire extends downward through the slat 3 on the inside of the hoop 5see 9- across the bottom of the hoop 5see 10--and part way up the outside of the hoop 5see 11.

The combination of the protruding loop with the extended arms forms a fastener which, when deformed or sprung back as shown in Figure 5, may readily be pulled into the usable position of Figure '7 without the use of pliers or other mechanical instruments, regardless of how stiff the wire is. The wire from which these fasteners are to be made is preferably of a gauge within the range of 14 to 1'7 and of the type known as bright stapling wire when the fasteners are to be used on slatted covers for bushel baskets, or the like.

Figures 2 and 3 show the fastener in use. The

6 and is bent back as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 3.

Referring to Figure 12, the parts in this drawing are in their near relative position, separated just sufficiently to show the shape'of each part clearly. DL and DR fit against the ends of C and EL and ER' slide down over the fins on DL and DR. The fins on D and the grooves in E are the same size as the size of wire used to make the fastener. W represents the wire feed into the machine from the right. A is the cutter which advances with BL and BR striking the wire first and cutting off the correct, length to make one fastener. BL and BB carry the wire against C, causing the wire to bend first into the shape of Ll. When BL and BB are fully advanced they force the, wire tightly'ag'ainst the shoulder on C,

DL and DR forming the shape shown by L2. EL

and ER then descend, bending the ends of the wire down over the edges BL and BR to form the final shape of the fastener, before being driven into the cover, as shown by L3, BL and BB then recede, leaving the fastener supported by C, DL,

DR, EL, and ER. When BL and BE are in the clear the cover is brought up from below as is shown by Figures 9, 10, and 11.

In Figure 9, T represents the table or anvil of the machine into whichis placed-two inserts designated by I, one for each leg of the fastener, and through which two clinch pins, designated by P, can-raise from below. The cover W is placed over the insert I by the operator of the machine. T raises, taking I and P in the same relative position with it, until it reache the position shown in Figure 10. As is shown by drawing, the leg of the fastener L is driven through the cover slat past the hoop 5 and guided across below the hoop and into the slot above P. This is done by the shape of the groove in the face of I. This groove is shown by the dotted line in Figure 9. iii hen I and W strike C, a latch releases and T remain stationary while P continues to advance to position shown by Figure 11. This rolls the end of the loop tight around the bottom of the cover hoop ii. There is a groove in P, shown by dotted line, to allow the wire to pass when the pin slides up against the cover hoop 5. A small kick off is provided to kick the loop loose from the end of C and, when T retards, the cover is taken from the machine by the operator. In this manner the new and improved wire fastener is made and attached to the cover.

A many apparently widely different embodi ments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiment-s. shown and described.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 413,997, filed October 7, 1941, for Wire fastener and method and apparatus for manufacture, now U. S. Patent No. 2,357,290, issued September 5, 1944.

I claim:

'1. A method of forming and attaching a protruding wire side fastener to the top of a slatted cover for a bushel basket or the like which comprises cutting a piece of wire to proper length, causing the wire to bend so as to form a v-like shape with a flat base, forcing the flat base between two parallel plates in a direction parallel to the surfaces of said plates, said base being held perpendicular to said surface thereby forming a U-shaped loop at the vertex of the angle made by the V-shaped arms, bending the ends of the arms in an opposite direction but horizontal position while maintaining the entire shape in one plane, then bending the ends of the arm downward perpendicular to said plane, forcing the perpendicular ends through the top of the slatted cover adjacent to the inner circumference of its marginal hoop and bringing said ends under and around said marginal hoop to the outside, thereby fastening said wire-Wide fastener to said cover.

2. A machine for forming and attaching a new and improved wire fastener to a slatted cover for a bushel basket or the like which comprises in combination a cutter, means for bending a wire so as to first form a V-like'shape with a fiat base, means for forcing the Wire between two plates with parallel surfaces in a direction parallel to said surfaces while holding the base perpendicular to said surfaces, thereby forming a U-like loop at the vertex of the angle formed by the v-like arms, means for bending the ends of said arms first into a horizontal position whereby they extend in opposite directions and the entire .shape is in one plane and then bending said ends downward along the line perpendicular to said plane, means for holding said shaped wire fas- CONRAD B. SCHWARZ. 

